Compass Point

I was twelve years old when I first began to hear and study the scriptures that describe the time of the kingdom of God on this earth. I remember the conflicting feelings of interest, unbelief and wonder. It was so different than anything else I had heard of the Bible up to that point. Jesus was really coming to this earth with a government, a kingdom, that will rule the world in a manner unlike any other form of rule ever experienced. What an incredible, almost unbelievable concept.

Yet the more I read in the scriptures on the matter the more real they became. The more I looked at our world and saw the problems man's rule had created the more the Bible made sense and gave me hope in something beyond today. From that early period I formed a worldview that helped me understand today's world and the way to lasting solutions for the monumental problems facing mankind. I had hope, and still do, that it is going to work out all right.

We have two articles in the September issue of World News and Prophecy that describe the coming age and what it will be like. We have been running a series by Mike Bennett that goes into detail of the transformation that will take place when Christ returns as Messiah.  Past article s have talked about the scourge of war and what conditions will be like when it will no longer cast its dark shadow over the earth. This month's installment shows the healing effect when there is no more hunger and or disease.

We have an additional article by Cecil Maranville, What the World Tomorrow Will Be Like. This article gives an overview of the subject and emphasizes this message of the coming kingdom was at the core of Christ message while on earth the first time. Christ came preaching the goods news of kingdom of God and urging that generation to repent, believe and accept the impact of that message (Mark 1:14, 15).

Christ addressed the issues of His day in the language of the world tomorrow. He met the needs of people where they were by healing the sick and feeding them on occasion. But His sermons and talks centered on the laws and principles of the kingdom. He showed people how to live happy peaceful lives in preparation for the world to come. He clearly described the framework of the kingdom. He addressed the big issues making headlines in our world today. All of this can be found in the gospels leaving us a clear vision of what lies ahead.

The kingdom of God is the only hope this world has. Wherever we turn today we see danger and gloomy prospects. You don't need us telling you all the bad news, just turn on your television or go on the Internet to see the moral, spiritual, political and environmental problems facing the world. Where do you see the hope and the solutions for the problems? Governments will try as all in the past have done. But will they bring a solution?

One author of a book about the Biblical prophets concluded that if you believe in the prophecies of the Old Testament that foretell the millennial age of the Messiah then you must conclude that they will not be brought to reality by any human effort. They will only be realized through the direct hand of God intervening in this world's affairs. His conclusion is one I came to see as a young man. The kingdom of God is just that, God's kingdom established and administered by His intervention in world affairs at the very moment when human existence is most threatened. Then, and only then, will we see the conditions of world peace achieved.

If you missed the other articles in the series on the world tomorrow then go to the back issues on our website and read them. You'll receive an overview of the world as it will be when Christ sets His hand to restore to the earth His government of peace and righteousness.


Israel Builds National Command Bunker

This article shows Israel takes serioulsy the threats from Iran to obliterate the nation and push it into the sea. Israel is preparing for a nuclear attack by building an underground command bunker capable of withstanding a nuclear attack. My only surprise is they had not built one sooner.

Ruble Rumble

Russia is making an attempt to become the center of a new international financial base. Buoyed by increased energy revenues Putin made some bold statements last June at an International Economic Forum in St. Pteresburg. Now he is building a world-class oil exchange on Russian territory intent on shifting energy business away from existing global financial centers. A new facility is being readied in St. Petersburg's historic Bourse -- an imposing, white-colonnaded Greek Revival building that dominates the majestic sweep of the Strelka, or Spit, of Vasilievsky Island in the Neva delta and which is visible from the Winter Palace -- that will open to market traders within months and where transactions will be denominated in rubles.

Here is more of the article from today's Wall Street Journal...
 

Mr. Putin's plan to confront the privileged global role of U.S. currency resonates with Russians eager to recapture nationalist pride. Lampooning the sickly American dollar is popular with members of the Kremlin-financed youth group Nashi (meaning "ours"). And it potentially accommodates the burgeoning economic aspirations and swelling egos of Russia's partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China. China, like Russia, bristles at its second-tier status within the global financial architecture. Harangued by the U.S. over exchange-rate policies, China has recently been flexing its monetary muscle by hinting that it might dump a portion of its considerable dollar reserves. The prospect of such a shock to the U.S. economy in the midst of a housing slump threatens to bring the whole edifice crashing down. Throw in statements of support from oil-producers Venezuela and Iran, and you have the makings of a devastating dollar rout. If Russia insists that its energy clients pay in rubles, we cannot expect our allies to strenuously resist. Europe purchases nearly 30% of its energy from Russia. Rising energy demand in Asia will likewise boost demand for rubles as Russia targets China, India and Japan. Last month, Japan quietly acquiesced to Iran's request that it switch from dollars to yen in payment for Iranian oil. Can U.S. leaders and financial authorities meet the challenge from the Kremlin? Is America prepared to offer its own proposals for establishing more stable currency and financial conditions for global trade? Or are we just interested in protecting our turf? The next Bretton Woods should be launched as an earnest initiative from the nation that gave birth to democratic capitalism. Not as an act of aggression from a pumped-up Russian pretender.

Russia is far from being a world power like the former Soviet Union, but these moves are not to be taken lightly. YOu can bet her neighbors in the Baltic states are not.